Communication Modalities Management

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, methods, and computer-readable media provide for the management of communication modes to facilitate network communications. According to various embodiments described herein, any number of communication methods are categorized into communication modes and communication types. A party sending a communication may choose a method of communicating with a receiving party according to the desired communication mode and type. A network communication application determines the proper routing for the communication according to any number of communication rules and presence information associated with the receiving party.

1 . A method for enabling communications between a sender device and a receiver device, comprising:
 receiving a communication request from the sender device;   selecting a communication mode from a plurality of potential communication modes for communicating with the receiver device according to at least one communication rule; and   establishing a communications link between the sender device and the receiver device utilizing the selected communication mode.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication request comprises a sender communication rule corresponding to a desired communication mode. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the sender communication rule corresponding to the desired communication mode further corresponds to a desired conversation type. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 providing the sender with a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising a plurality of communication mode selections associated with the receiver; and   providing the sender with a real-time conversation type selection and a cached conversation type selection for each communication mode selection.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining presence information associated with the receiver and wherein the at least one communication rule designates the communication mode according to the presence information. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a receiver communication rule established by the receiver and a sender communication rule established by the sender, and wherein selecting a communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises:
 determining whether the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied to select the receiver device;   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied, then selecting the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule; and   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule cannot both be satisfied to select the communication mode, then selecting the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining presence information associated with the receiver; and   determining that the communication mode has not been identified by the receiver and has not been identified by the sender,   wherein the at least one communication rule comprises instructions to determine the communication mode according to the presence information associated with the receiver.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining presence information associated with the receiver, wherein the communication request comprises a request for a real-time conversation with the receiver via any available communication mode, and wherein selecting the communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises selecting a communication mode operative to communicate in real-time according to the presence information. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication request is received on a first transport from the sender device, wherein selecting the communication mode comprises selecting a second transport associated with the receiver device, and wherein establishing a communications link between the sender device and the receiver device comprises translating the communication request from a format compatible with the first transport to a format compatible with the second transport and transmitting the communications request to the receiver device. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a receiver communication rule established by the receiver. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a sender communication rule comprising the communication mode request. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a network communication rule. 
   
   
       13 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 receive a communication request from a sender device;   select a communication mode for communicating with a receiver according to at least one communication rule; and   establish a communications link between the sender device and a receiver device utilizing the selected communication mode.   
   
   
       14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the communication request comprises a sender communication rule corresponding to a desired communication mode and to a desired conversation type. 
   
   
       15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , further comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 provide the sender with a GUI, the GUI comprising a plurality of communication mode selections associated with the receiver; and   provide the sender with a real-time conversation selection and a cached conversation selection for each communication mode selection.   
   
   
       16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine presence information associated with the receiver and wherein the at least one communication rule designates the communication mode according to the presence information. 
   
   
       17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a receiver communication rule established by the receiver and a sender communication rule established by the sender, and wherein causing the computer to select a communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises causing the computer to:
 determine whether the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied to select the communication mode;   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied, then to select the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule; and   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule cannot both be satisfied to select the communication mode, then to select the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule.   
   
   
       18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine presence information associated with the receiver, wherein the communication request comprises a request for a real-time conversation with the receiver via any available communication mode, and wherein causing the computer to select the communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises causing the computer to select a communication mode operative to communicate in real-time according to the presence information. 
   
   
       19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a receiver communication rule established by the receiver. 
   
   
       20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a sender communication rule comprising the communication mode request. 
   
   
       21 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a network communication rule. 
   
   
       22 . A system for enabling communications between a sender and a receiver, comprising:
 means for receiving a communication request from a sender device;   means for selecting a communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule; and   means for establishing a communications link between the sender device and a receiver device utilizing the selected communication mode.   
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the communication request comprises a sender communication rule corresponding to a desired mode for communicating with the receiver and to a desired conversation type, the system further comprising:
 means for providing the sender with a GUI, the GUI comprising a plurality of communication mode selections associated with the receiver; and   means for providing the sender with a real-time conversation selection and a cached conversation selection for each communication mode selection.   
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising means for determining presence information associated with the receiver and wherein the at least one communication rule designates the communication mode according to the presence information. 
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises a receiver communication rule established by the receiver and a sender communication rule established by the sender, and wherein the means for selecting a communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises:
 means for determining whether the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied to select the communication mode;   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule can both be satisfied, then means for selecting the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule; and   if the receiver communication rule and the sender communication rule cannot both be satisfied to select the communication mode, then means for selecting the communication mode according to the receiver communication rule.   
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising means for determining presence information associated with the receiver, wherein the communication request comprises a request for a real-time conversation with the receiver via any available communication mode, and wherein the means for selecting the communication mode for communicating with the receiver according to at least one communication rule comprises means for selecting a communication mode operative to communicate in real-time according to the presence information. 
   
   
       27 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the at least one communication rule comprises at least one of a receiver rule, a sender rule, or a network rule. 
   
   
       28 . A sender communication device for communicating with a plurality of receiver communication devices associated with a receiver, comprising:
 a display;   a communication application operative to provide the display with a GUI, the GUI comprising a plurality of communication mode selections associated with the plurality of receiver communication devices and to provide the sender with a real-time conversation type selection and a cached conversation type selection for each communication mode selection; and   a processor operative to execute the communication application.